Monday, July 9, 2018

50 MONDAY, JULY 9, 2018
homes
property
Police have abandoned us, NITEL/Mtel Ikorodu estate residents lament
Maureen
Ihua-Maduenyi
Residents of the NITEL/
Mtel Estate in Ikorodu,
have accused the Lagos
State Police Command of
abandoning them by failing
to provide protection for them
from land grabbers, popularly
known as omoniles, as ordered
by the court.
According to the residents,
an Ikorodu High Court had
ordered the Commissioner
of Police in Lagos State to
station on a permanent basis, a
contingent of armed policemen
in the estate to ensure that no
construction activities goes
on there as well as prevent
intruders on the property.
They added that the court,
presided over by Justice Lawal
Akapo, had also ordered the
Area Commander, Area N,
Ijede Command, being the
nearest area command, to
station armed policemen in
the estate on a permanent
basis to ensure law and order,
and prevent further activities
on the property pending the
determination of case.
“The court ordered the
police to provide protection
for residents but nothing
has been done; it has been
business as usual for the
omoniles,” a resident told our
correspondent.
The PUNCH had about two
months ago reported that
residents of the NiteL/Mtel
Estate had cried out for help
following an alleged threat to
their lives and properties by
land grabbers.
The residents had alleged that
in the last two years, armed land
grabbers had taken over the
estate, selling plots of land yet
to be developed by some of the
allottees and generally making
the area unsafe for them, while
all efforts to get help from law
enforcement agents had proved
abortive.
They said plots of land were
allocated to them around
2007, when NITEL went
into liquidation, and Natcom
Development and Investment
Limited acquired the core
‘Affordable housing should be about innovative products’
Maureen
Ihua-Maduenyi
Affordable housing
should mean having
access to innovative real estate
products, which offer value
for money, the Managing
Director of PropertyMart,
Deji Fasuwon, has said.
Fasuwon said it should
also be about delivering
well-planned, secure and
decent housing, where living
standard would not only be
enhanced, but where real
estate investment would
speedily appreciate.
He stated, “Generally,
when people think of
affordable housing, they
Property prices in key
global cities drop
Prices in key cities around
the world are rising at their
slowest rate since the third
quarter of 2015, up by four per
cent in the 12 months to March
2018, down from 6.4 per cent a
year ago, the latest index shows.
According to Propertywire.
com, the Indian city of Surat
leads the annual rankings with
a rise of 22 per cent over the
12 month period, followed by
Izmir in Turkey with a rise of
16.5 per cent, Hong Kong up
15.6 per cent and Vancouver up
15.4 per cent.
The global residential cities
index from Knight Frank also
shows that prices rose by 14.9
per cent in Berlin, by 14.8 per
cent in Rotterdam, by 14.4
per cent in Budapest, by 14.1
per cent in Hobart, Australia,
and by 12.9 per cent in Seattle,
which is the top performance in
the United States.
At the other end of the scale
prices fell by 7.2 per cent in Abu
Dhabi, by 7.1 per cent in Turin,
by 6.6 per cent in Genoa, by 6.5
per cent in Darwin, by 6.1 per
cent in Moscow, by 4.9 per cent
in Rio de Janeiro and in Oslo, by
4.8 per cent in Delhi and Dubai,
and by 4.5 per cent in Chennai.
The index report points out
that while a year ago 12 cities
exceed 20 per cent growth per
annum, this quarter only one
city was in this category and
this growth in the Indian city
of Surat is largely due to an
inordinately low base in the first
quarter of 2017, caused by the
unprecedented demonetisation
of high value currency in the
country.
Overall, the data shows that
Europe’s upward trajectory
think about urban slums
with rundown, cheap houses
and apartments where people
live without having to resort
to homelessness. For us at
PropertyMart, affordable
housing means having access
to innovative real estate
products, which offer value
for money, while delivering
a well-planned, secure and
decent housing.
“Lekki is reputed to be
the fastest growing corridor
in Africa as it will soon be
home to the biggest port,
the biggest refinery, one of
the most beautiful and ecofriendly
airports in Africa
and a free trade zone, which
is already oversubscribed
continues. Eleven of the top 20
cities ranked by annual growth
are in Europe with growth of
14.9 per cent in Berlin, 14.8
per cent in Rotterdam, 14.4
per cent in Budapest, 12 per
cent in Edinburgh, 11.8 per cent
in Reykjavik, 11.7 per cent in
Porto and 11.3 per cent in Sofia.
A lack of supply has boosted
prices in Seattle with growth of
12.9 per cent with San Francisco
recording growth of 11.2 per
cent and Los Angeles up 8.1 per
cent. In the US, despite three
rate rises in the year to March
2018 average prices across the
15 cities included in the index
increased by 6.8 per cent over
the 12 month period.
The comparable figure for the
UK’s eight cities is 4.9 per cent
with Edinburgh out in front
and Aberdeen the weakest
performer with pries down
two per cent while London has
also seen negative growth with
prices down by 0.6 per cent.
Southern Europe is
increasingly polarised.
Whilst Italian cities are wellrepresented
at the foot of the
table, Spanish and Portuguese
cities are registering stronger
growth. Porto, Malaga and
Madrid all sit high in the
rankings with annual growth
of 11.7 per cent, 10.4 per cent
and 10.3 per cent respectively.
The report also reveals that
divergent markets are evident
not just at a regional level but
at a country level as well. The
10 countries with the largest
gap between their strongest
and weakest performing city is
synonymous with a list of the
world’s largest economies as
all 10 occupy a seat at the G20.
by future-oriented local
and global businesses. To
this end, there has been
concerted efforts by the
state government to provide
road infrastructure around
the corridor given that it is
already a high traffic route,
one that holds a significant
economic benefit and
potential to accommodate
mass influx.”
Fasuwon said the firm’s
projected vision for its estate
in the Lekki axis, Fairmont
Estate, was to become a
private living community for
those who cherish serenity,
splendour, space and security.
“The estate is planned to
avail residents a romance with
nature and subscribers have a
chance to live in customised
homes,” he added.
In a statement, Fasuwon
explained that the firm was
offering affordable land for
sale with an innovative and
accessible payment structure
for the young and upwardly
mobile looking for good and
affordable value on the Lekki
corridor, but who lacked the
ability to put down bulk sum.
He stated that the firm had
concluded arrangements to
end its special promotion
offer for early subscribers to
its Fairmont Lekki housing
scheme, which would see
the firm revert to the original
price of land in the estate.
Fasuwon added, “We
are doing this because, we
believe at PropertyMart
that affordable housing that
actually benefits a community
is not cheap housing, but
more about value for money.
It’s housing that a person
could pay for within their
price range without going
bankrupt, and feel safe and
satisfied with.
“We believe that an
affordable house can be a
dream villa and should be
a place where you and your
family can comfortably live
happily and grow, hence
our aggressive pursuit with
Fairmont Lekki land sale.”
telecommunications assets
previously owned by NiteL/
Mtel.
They added that several
people got allocations, but in
2015, a family came forward
and instituted a legal action
challenging the validity of sale
to the allotees by the NiteL
liquidator.
The residents said following
the suit, there had been
breakdown of law and order,
which had led to armed robbery
attacks in the estate, which
houses over 100 families.
“There is still no security
here; the omoniles have
brought in armed people known
as ‘ajagungbales’ to terrorise us
and we live in fear. Up till now,
construction is still going on,
even on manholes and cable
lines, and nobody is talking. It is
as if the police have abandoned
us to our fate,” a resident said.
The residents had earlier
alleged that they sent a petition
to the Area Commander in
Ijede but nothing was done.
“We also wrote a petition to
the Commissioner of Police
and he sent the petition to
the Deputy Commissioner of
Police, Panti, but nothing has
been done. Now, the court has
even ordered them to provide
protection and nothing is
being done,” another resident
lamented.
The Public Relations Officer,
Lagos State Police Command,
Chike Oti, a Superintendent
of Police, who spoke with
our correspondent on the
telephone, said he was not
aware of any court injunction
asking the police to guard the
estate.
“No order has been served
on us to that effect. I am not
aware of any order like that.
If it exists, let them take it
to the legal department for
interpretation and action will
be taken on it,” he said.